Young brawlers: Mass fight breaks out between junior hockey teams in south Russia (VIDEO)

While Russia’s North Caucasus region is well known for its successful wrestlers and other combat sports athletes, ice hockey, where fighting is also part of the game, seems to be slowly gaining popularity.

Video footage of a mass fight last weekend between players of two junior hockey teams, local club Alania and visitors Haski (Nevinnomysk), which happened in the capital city of the Republic of North Ossetia, Vladikavkaz, appeared online on Thursday.

The fight between the two teams during the Southern Championship of Russia reportedly started after the final whistle, when most of the home team, which claimed a 6-3 victory on the night, had already left the ice.

However, they seemed to all rush back when the brawl started.

Alexander Basenko, the head coach of Haski, told Russian outlet Sport-Express it was not the first clash between the two teams, but added that “no one had any intentions to fight.”

“Though we lost the game 3-6, I told my guys that it was a logical outcome and we had no one but ourselves to blame.”

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As a result of the skirmish, three players – two from Alania and one from Haski – were disqualified and will miss the next game. According to local media, no one was seriously injured.

The Ministry of Sport of North Ossetia stated: “An official investigation will definitely be conducted. We have already discussed the incident with the referee of the game.”